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Hardwood Paroxysm Presents: Our Fantasy Playoff Matchups

By HP Basketball Network

Feb 27, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum (88) during the third quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum (88) during the third quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 11, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Grit and Grind Meets Thunder and Lightning: OKC vs. Memphis

By Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) — Mid-Level Exceptional

If the Oklahoma City Thunder wind up making the playoffs, they’ll almost certainly do so as the No. 8 seed, earning a date with the Golden State Warriors as their first-round matchup. If a 14-second UFC fight can be on pay-per-view, there’s no reason a seven-game clash between the Splash Brothers and the Russell Westbrook-Kevin Durant duo doesn’t deserve to be, too.

Though a Dubs-Thunder series would leave no viewer unsatisfied, OKC has a blood feud to settle first. That’s right: We need Round 4 between the Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening round of the 2015 playoffs, even if it may be the death of our Editor Emeritus.

These two franchises can’t seem to avoid each other in recent postseasons, having locked horns three times in the past four years. OKC took the upper hand with a seven-game victory in the 2011 Western Conference semifinals, but Memphis struck back two years later by knocking out the Thunder in five games during their semifinals rematch. (That was the year Westbrook tore his meniscus against Houston in OKC’s first-round series. Thanks again for that, Patrick Beverley.)

Last year’s first-round rubber match may have been the best series between the two yet. Reggie Jackson spared OKC from going down 3-1 by erupting in Game 4 to the tune of 32 points—on a night in which Durant went 5-of-21 and Westbrook finished 6-of-24—only to see Memphis eke out a one-point victory in Game 5. With the Grizzlies going home for Game 6 needing just one win to end the Thunder’s season for the second straight year, Durant’s long-overdue explosion surfaced, as the soon-to-be MVP went off for 36 points to stake OKC to a 20-point victory.

Tempers boiled over during the fourth quarter of Game 6, as Zach Randolph punched rookie center Steven Adams in the jaw, earning an ill-timed one-game suspension. With no Z-Bo to worry about, the Thunder dropped a series-high 120 points on the Grizzlies in Game 7, escaping to the second round by the skin of their teeth.

If the two teams cross paths again in this year’s postseason, Memphis will be out for blood. Z-Bo will likely make it his personal mission to erase Adams from existence, while Tony Allen will happily reprise his role as KD stopper once more. Pitting the ever-explosive Westbrook against Memphis’ top-10 defense is always a treat, and this year’s matchup would come with an added bonus: Jeff Green!

Yes, that’s the same Jeff Green who OKC (then-Seattle) drafted fifth overall in 2007, pairing him with Durant as the first building blocks of the terrifying Thunder dynamo you see today. Green, Durant, Westbrook and Serge Ibaka all played together for one-and-a-half years before OKC flipped Green to Boston at the trade deadline for Kendrick Perkins. If you don’t think we’d get hammered over the head with that narrative during a Grizzlies-Thunder series, you don’t know local basketball media. (Maybe we’d even see a reprise of the Broingtons?)

A Memphis-OKC first-round series would be the NBA’s version of Thunderdome. Two teams will enter; only one team will live. And that’s meant literally, not figuratively. Get your Pepto Whiskey ready, Mr. Moore.

Next: Lillard vs. Paul

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